how many of you drive with a video cam rolling?

[SSM_DC5]

Question about the thinkware f800 pro.

What can I expect to see for the lights on the dashcam as it goes into parking mode and if the voltage cut off kicks in?

This is my first thinkware, I've had blackvue in the past and i can tell the different modes from led colour then finally, no LED's when voltage cutoff kicks in.

For the thinkware i always see LED's lit up. I have cutoff set to more than 12v so that i can try to see a change in the LED's faster.

[heisenberg]

whats a great set up today? dual channel with hopefully not too much hassle having parking mode run without killing the battery.

would it be like a blackvue 750 with the magic pro

[twitchyzero]

750 with magic pro obd is my setup

just ordered the sandisk 256gb endurance card for $60, will report back if it's a fake (always a risk even if it's fulfilled by amazon)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[GIZZ]

I really liked my old garmin before it died, the image was clear and audio was good enough. The other cars garmin has good video but no audio, if you are in the market for a dashcam make sure it records audio. I run a YI cam in my daily, the video is about as good as the garmin at 1/4 the price. I'm going to get more once they go on sale again. I run DJI osmo action and Gopro heros on my bike, the DJI stabilization is amazing.

[trollface]

I was able to wire up a F800 pro to a 20,000 MAH battery pack. When the car is on, it uses the car's battery and charges the battery pack at the same time. When it's off, it switches to the pack for parking mode. Runs for days on end without draining your car battery. Don't have to flip any switches, swap any wires or anything. All works seamlessly. Took a little bench testing and research, but I found all the parts that make it work.

Dashcam battery: 400 bucks
My setup: $60

[SSM_DC5]

Care to share? Sounds like a much cheaper alternative to buying the dashcam battery packs.

[twitchyzero]

the benefit of a battery pack is never worrying about a flat battery in the winter

but if you have a short commute it never gets a chance to charge enough to get substantial amount of record time in parking mode

[trollface]

Q3 quickcharge is just as fast as the non hardwired version on the cell link. I rather put ware and tare on a 30 dollar pack than my 300 dollar car batt I guess.

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by trollface

I was able to wire up a F800 pro to a 20,000 MAH battery pack. When the car is on, it uses the car's battery and charges the battery pack at the same time. When it's off, it switches to the pack for parking mode. Runs for days on end without draining your car battery. Don't have to flip any switches, swap any wires or anything. All works seamlessly. Took a little bench testing and research, but I found all the parts that make it work.

Dashcam battery: 400 bucks
My setup: $60

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

Care to share? Sounds like a much cheaper alternative to buying the dashcam battery packs.

can you just from the 12v plug it in to the battery pack, and from the battery pack, plug in to the camera? that way the battery pack is powering the cam and the 12v tops up the battery pack while the car is running?

[trollface]

That's how my system works. Also not all systems run off 12v and you can't get a USB bank to push 12v without telling it to with moduels. They default to 5v at most and will not power it.

I'll let everyone know how it performs. It's been a few days and the bank is still at 96% chsrge

[!Aznboi128]

The only thing that concerns me about this is how will those batteries run/last in the heat. This summer has been pretty mild but in last summer inside the vehicle, temps do get pretty hot.

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by trollface

Q3 quickcharge is just as fast as the non hardwired version on the cell link.

Originally Posted by trollface

That's how my system works. Also not all systems run off 12v

I'll let everyone know how it performs. It's been a few days and the bank is still at 96% chsrge

please post parts/link when you do thanks

the 51R car battery for compact cars dont hold much juice above 12.4V

[GIZZ]

The current draw is so small for these cams, I’ve left my Yi going for a 4 days and no issue starting vehicle when I returned. For single event this might work, for continuous HD recording with audio there won’t be enough room on the biggest card possible without overwrighting. Also depending on the cam, might get hot and fail in the sun.

[TOS'd]

hypothetically speaking, could you hook up some sort of hot-swappable HDD setup?

[twitchyzero]

HDD, what is this 2003?

yes you could probably find a complex way to rig up SSD

or just get a model that only records time-lapse/ or when an event is triggered by the G-sensor or motion

[trollface]

Originally Posted by TOS'd

hypothetically speaking, could you hook up some sort of hot-swappable HDD setup?

Sure, but the power consumption is crazy. Why would you really want more than 128g of footage of nothing?

[trollface]

It's been a full work week. I drive about 20mins to work, 30mins home. Car is parked about 8hrs running F800Pro energy-saving mode.

My battery back has 4 lights indicating charge. I'm still on the 4th light indicating 75%+ charge. I don't see charging being an issue with the amount of driving (pretty low).

I'm going to do more tests on this to make sure it doesn't blow up anyone's car.

[Acura604]

Trying to decide if I want to mount a rear dash on the TL. i mean, sedans are tricky.. no rear wiper and we're in that rainy season... would a rear dashcam capture anything of quality while the rear window is soaked?

[trollface]

Originally Posted by Acura604

Trying to decide if I want to mount a rear dash on the TL. i mean, sedans are tricky.. no rear wiper and we're in that rainy season... would a rear dashcam capture anything of quality while the rear window is soaked?

Better than nothing. Also, Rainx.

[BIC_BAWS]

What is a cheap, but decent dashcam out there? I used to run the G1W-H which was suitable for what it was. I'm looking for dashcams for people who don't care about dashcams, like my younger brother, my dad, and my gf's parents. Pref not too flashy because gf & parents live in newton/whalley lmfao

2CH options could be considered, but I'd like the install of it to be easier than not. I think front is better than none, considering my gf's mom got rear ended (very slow, in a high school parking lot) the other day and didn't take ANY photos. Alternatively, since their windows aren't tinted, perhaps a rearview mounted one which has a rear camera looking into cabin and out the back window.

[AzNightmare]

If 2ch is within your budget, I would always recommend 2ch. A rear cam is better than nothing and every bit helps cause you never know how your car will get hit.

If it's a sedan, that's even that much more work. It's a PITA if it's a Hatchback or anything with a lift back.

A dashcam is an investment for the life of your vehicle and longer as it can be transferred to the next vehicle. If the back window is a bit dirty now, it'll still benefit in the summer. lol
2ch is totally worth it imo.


I got clipped from behind one time when a truck was merging into my lane. So the front wouldn't have caught anything. It just made the investigation a lot easier with a rear cam. Considering the driver had a false witness on his side.

[SSM_DC5]

Viofo 2 channel for $220?

https://www.blackboxmycar.ca/collect...13062822658071

Could spend $330 for the 4k version too.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

What is a cheap, but decent dashcam out there? I used to run the G1W-H which was suitable for what it was. I'm looking for dashcams for people who don't care about dashcams, like my younger brother, my dad, and my gf's parents. Pref not too flashy because gf & parents live in newton/whalley lmfao

2CH options could be considered, but I'd like the install of it to be easier than not. I think front is better than none, considering my gf's mom got rear ended (very slow, in a high school parking lot) the other day and didn't take ANY photos. Alternatively, since their windows aren't tinted, perhaps a rearview mounted one which has a rear camera looking into cabin and out the back window.

Yi Cam out of Amazon is often $50, and it's very easy to deal with and install. Not the sleekest or smallest, but decent video quality and has WiFi for easy extraction of files.

[Acura604]

anyone else do the annual routine of cleaning their blackvues? the image gets hazy, cloudy over time so the lens has to be cleaned from the inside.

[SSM_DC5]

Which model is that? Happened on my old ones but not my newer ones.